


Of Marriage and Crushes

by m_lucien



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cats, Domestic Fluff, Established Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Married Couple, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25104754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_lucien/pseuds/m_lucien
Summary: Wherein Merlin just wanted a cat and Arthur heard an interesting story from Gwaine.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 93





	Of Marriage and Crushes

Merlin chuckled as the cat in the video jumped in shock at the sight of a cucumber. It would be wonderful to have his own kitty fellow, he thought not for the first time. He’d always wanted one, but his mum was allergic and now, his husband, Arthur, didn’t approve of furry pets because of the horrendous amount of hair they shed. Merlin respected that, after all, compromise is the heart of relationships.

There was a good three hours before Arthur is due to meet with him. Plenty of time to watch more cat videos.

He reached for his Caramel Macchiato and took a sip before he settled against the plush cushions of the chair he was seated on. He had always liked this café because of their chairs first and the coffee second. It was also just two blocks away from Arthur’s office, so it was the perfect place for Merlin to wait for him to finish work.

The fourth cat video he was on was halfway finished when a hand cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss on the crown of his head – which effectively startled him and caused him to almost dropped his mobile. However, his nerves were immediately soothed upon seeing who arrived.

“You’re early!” Merlin exclaimed, pleased at seeing his husband. He watched Arthur take a seat on the chair opposite him. He pocketed his mobile to give Arthur his full attention – as good husbands are wont to do.

Arthur shrugged. “There wasn’t anything for me to do anymore, so I left,” he said, then added, “I missed you.”

Merlin flushed, delighted to know that Arthur missed him even though they only spent a few hours apart. Not a long time ago, Arthur wouldn’t have uttered those words, having been brought up in a household where affection was seldom shown – let alone said. “Missed you too,” he replied, smiling at his husband.

“I know,” Arthur said with sheer confidence. Merlin rolled his eyes – leave it to Arthur to destroy the moment. “Anyway, I heard a very interesting story from Gwaine this morning.”

Merlin tutted at him. “You know better than to listen to Gwaine’s stories. Half of what he says aren’t even true.”

A corner of Arthur’s lips lifted into a smirk. “Merlin, Merlin, Merlin,” he drawled, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“What?” Merlin asked, knowing that smirk didn’t bode well for him. “Drop that smirk. You look positively hideous.”

“We both know that’s not true.” Arthur dismissed him. Sometimes, Merlin just _can’t_ stand how self-assured his husband was. He stayed silent, not daring to engage Arthur into further conversation, but o _f course_ , Arthur wouldn’t leave him be. “Don’t you want to hear what Gwaine told me?”

Merlin shook his head, sinking further into the cushion of his chair. “Nope, I don’t want to. Let’s talk about cats instead.” He pulled his mobile from his pocket, wanting to show Arthur the cat video with the cucumbers; but Arthur swiped his mobile from his grasp before Merlin even got the chance to.

“Remember our wedding vows, husband. We agreed that we shall not use our mobiles during our time together.” Arthur placed Merlin’s mobile on the table in front of them.

Great. His mum told him to be careful with his marriage vows, and now look where it got him. His own wedding vows doomed him to have a conversation about some story that was bound to be embarrassing for him, judging how Arthur’s smirk seemed to have gotten bigger. “Alright then, what did Gwaine say?” He asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Best to get this done and over with.

“Turns out you’ve been keeping secrets, Merlin,” Arthur said. “Some _vital_ information regarding our relationship.”

Merlin sputtered. “What in the world are you talking – _oh_.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Merlin closed his eyes in slight trepidation. He _was_ going to tell Arthur about it someday, just… _not_ today. “It was me,” he admitted, opening his eyes to see his husband’s reaction. “I did it.”

“Did what exactly?” Arthur’s smug grin was replaced with a frown and a look of confusion.

“You know,” Merlin waved his right hand with meaning which Arthur did not understand judging by the way he still looked confused. He sighed and decided to stop beating around. “I was the one who binned Uther’s wedding gift.”

“ _What_?!”

“It was the ugliest vase I’ve ever seen in my life!” Merlin exclaimed defensively. “I know you hate it too! You looked like you were going to spit at it when we received it. I _knew_ Gwaine is a snitch, that bastard.”

“Merlin, I didn’t know anything about this.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, _oh_. Morgana gave me a lot of shit for that one. Apparently, father went through great lengths to acquire that particular vase, and now you’re telling me you’re responsible for throwing it away!”

Merlin grimaced. “That’s not what you talked about with Gwaine then?” Arthur leveled him with a look, making him wince. “I’ll take that as a ‘no’.”

They were silent for a moment before Arthur sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “We’ll talk about this later – _much_ later.” He sighed once more before he continued, “As I was saying earlier, you’ve been withholding information about our relationship.”

Merlin slowly nodded. “I still don’t know what you’re going on about.”

The stupid smirk was back on Arthur’s stupid face and Merlin was ready to give everything in his possession to have it gone. “Really? Because Gwaine told me you have a crush on me.”

Merlin stared at Arthur and stared some more. “Are you taking the piss right now?”

“How _embarrassing_ , Merlin.” Arthur shook his head at him, looking as if he was pitying Merlin.

“Arthur, we’re _married_.” He reminded, in case his husband forgot.

“I know and you have a crush on me,” Arthur said, looking even more smug (how that was possible was beyond Merlin).

Merlin was hit with a sudden realization. “Oh, my goodness,” he breathed. “I married an idiot.”

“Hey!” Arthur exclaimed, indignantly.

“Well, you _are_. Did you think I married you for your dick?” Merlin asked, shooting an incredulous look at his husband. “Come on, Arthur, I was the one who asked you out.”

For some reason, as Merlin looked at Arthur, the latter suddenly seemed shy. “It was news to me,” Arthur said, his voice quiet. “It’s nice to know that you _do_ like me.”

Merlin softened at that. He’s not as emotionally-stunted as Arthur, but he usually didn’t voice out his affections as much as he should. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Arthur needed as much assurance as Merlin did when it came to their feelings in their marriage. “I do like you – love you, even, you dollophead.” They just smiled at each other for a few tender seconds before Merlin spoke again. “Now, that we’re talking about feelings, I feel like we should get a cat.”

Arthur groaned, slumping against his chair. “Not this again.”

“I’ll get a Sphynx, so there won’t be hair shedding.” Merlin insisted.

“Buy me coffee and I’ll think about it.”

“Deal.”

Arthur nodded his head towards the counter. “Hop to it then.” And Merlin went to the counter and ordered a large Pumpkin Spice Latte because he knew Arthur hated that stuff and would only suggest that they get a fish instead.

**Author's Note:**

> This is just word vomit from beginning to end. I'm on leave from my work today and I wanted to write something, so here it is. Also, I included cats because I like them.
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated!


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